Posts tagged unions
Unions’ Capital Activism Harms Members
July 16, 2026 // A new Mackinac Center study, “Unions and ESG: From Worker Representation to Shareholder Activism,” shows how activist investing by organized labor slows the economy, weakens the financial system, and directly harms union members. The most common vehicle is ESG investing, in which shareholders pressure publicly traded companies to enact certain environmental, social and governance policies. While ESG advocates often present the movement as a benign effort to make companies more socially responsible, unions use it to advance their political and organizational self-interest.
Op-ed: Union transparency rules are only as strong as their enforcement
July 12, 2026 // Only after Ormond and Bilodeau sued their unions to compel them to follow the law did the agency finally start doing some of that “paperwork.” Last month, the department sent public-sector unions in the state a notice reminding them to follow the law, and it created an apparently new online portal for them to file the required financial reports. The department’s official guidance also said that unions must provide employees with hard copies of the reports and hold a meeting to discuss them.
Labor unions pull support of Portland City Councilor Mitch Green over construction project tensions
July 9, 2026 // "With the Bull Run filtration plant in particular, which kind of started this tension, I raised the alarm that the water bonds we were going to have to issue for that plant are going to set ratepayers on a path that are going to see their water bill double," Green told KGW. The cost of building the filtration plant in east Multnomah County has skyrocketed from $500 million in estimates circa 2017 to $2.56 billion as of earlier this year. Right now, the way the city expects to pay for it is by increasing residential water rates between 8% and 10% each year for five years.
Op-ed– MY TURN: Washington’s one-size labor law doesn’t fit Alaska
July 9, 2026 // Forced arbitration doesn’t resolve disputes. It delays them and adds uncertainty to project timelines that are already difficult to manage. For the major energy and infrastructure projects Alaska is now positioned to advance, that uncertainty isn’t just an inconvenience. It could be catastrophic. America needs bold steps toward a more robust energy future, and shortsighted federal mandates stand in the way of that.
Op-ed: Why teachers unions fear, and fib about, new federal program
July 7, 2026 // Perhaps the unions are right to be scared. Anything that introduces competition into the educational landscape threatens their monopoly. When you read between the lines of Weingartner and Pringle’s letter, you can almost hear the death rattle. But in the end, this isn’t about the unions. This is about kids who deserve a high-quality education regardless of their household income or zip code. And anybody who gets between them and their parents would be wise to choose their words more carefully.
Op-ed: 8 years after Janus, unions are still trying to keep workers in the dark
July 6, 2026 // The National Education Association’s headquarters dues revenue fell from $370 million in fiscal 2017 to an inflation-adjusted $310 million five years later — a decline in real terms of about 16 percent. Nationally, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show public-sector union density slid from 33.9 percent in 2018 to 32.2 percent in 2024, before edging back up to 32.9 percent last year. States that gave workers more direct control over their own dues saw the effect even more clearly. After Florida ended government payroll deduction of union dues in 2023, the Florida Education Association lost more than 20,000 members in a single school year. When workers must actively choose to pay, rather than having dues quietly deducted by default, a meaningful share of them chooses not to.
Why Connecticut unions are still endorsing Gov. Lamont despite public clashes
July 6, 2026 // Lamont is also campaigning on a record that includes signing worker-friendly laws establishing automatic increases to the state's minimum wage, expanding paid sick leave and providing workers up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, extending collective bargaining rights for public employees, banning captive audience meetings by employers, and strengthening labor protections for warehouse workers. Elliott voted for all those laws as a state legislator.
Massachusetts Chooses Literacy Over Union Politics
July 6, 2026 // For years, the measure faced strong opposition from unions, particularly the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), which argued that it would infringe on teacher autonomy. The state’s teachers’ unions are among the most politically powerful in the country. While union membership has declined in many states, available public figures show a stable union presence in Massachusetts. But even that power couldn’t outweigh the pressing need for reading reform. Massachusetts students have traditionally been among the top scorers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, even as national scores have declined. But the state’s lead has been driven by wealthy students, while poorer students have seen major declines, barely edging out their peers in other states. Taking demographics into account, Massachusetts has fallen behind underdogs like Louisiana and Mississippi, whose disadvantaged students have seen comparatively greater improvements. Such results look especially bad for a state that touts its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Unions, others ask judge to block Trump administration’s USDA overhaul
July 3, 2026 // A group of unions, nonprofits and U.S. municipalities has asked a federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture's planned reorganization, including the relocation of more than 2,500 employees based in the District of Columbia
A Mamdani-inspired democratic socialist swayed FL unions against a Dem incumbent
July 1, 2026 // Florida’s largest federation of labor unions, the Florida AFL-CIO, has endorsed all of the state’s sitting Democratic members of Congress who are up for reelection - except for Jared Moskowitz. The move comes after democratic socialist and labor union organizer Oliver Larkin worked to sway delegates at the federation’s annual mid-June endorsement convention against Moskowitz, who has represented parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties since 2023.